


of boba and holding hands

by leoperidot



Series: my fics for bakoda fleet week 2020 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, bato is a good dad, but like from the parents' perspective?, hakoda is kinda more awkward than zuko in this honestly, hakoda is oblivious, idk if i did any of the characterization right, very sweet, you can and you should read some very very light pre-relationship zukka into this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25557703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leoperidot/pseuds/leoperidot
Summary: Sokka swears by the boba at the Jasmine Dragon, near his college campus, so much that he insists his dads try it for themselves.
Relationships: Bato/Hakoda (Avatar)
Series: my fics for bakoda fleet week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1853833
Comments: 31
Kudos: 224
Collections: Bakoda Fleet Week 2020





	of boba and holding hands

**Author's Note:**

> i wasn't gonna write anything for today's prompt but then this morning this idea popped into my head so here we are
> 
> day one prompts: modern AU and with kids, i kinda did both!

Sokka’s move-in is both earlier and more streamlined than it was his freshman year, but because he’s an RA, they can’t linger very long on their goodbyes or take that fathers-son field trip to the tea shop down the block that Sokka says they just _have_ to try. So they promise Sokka they’ll try it on the way out.

“Will we actually?” Bato asks in the elevator.

“Let’s humor him,” Hakoda says. “Besides, I’m not wild about getting right back in the car and driving home.”

“Fair enough.”

The place is, indeed, just down the block, tucked away in a picturesque row of shops between an independent bookstore and a taco place. When they go in, it’s reasonably busy but not too crowded, filled with a pleasant buzz of chatter over the quiet classical music playing through the speakers.

“Hi, welcome to the Jasmine Dragon,” says the kid behind the counter, who can’t be any older than Sokka is, with a very rehearsed air. “What can I get for you?”

Hakoda is trying very hard not to stare, because he’s certain this kid must get that all the time, because the—Hakoda wants to think it’s a birthmark but birthmarks are flush with the rest of the skin, they don’t pucker at the edges or have that dull, whitish almost-gloss to them, but how could it be a _scar_ —He’s definitely staring. 

Bato squeezes Hakoda’s hand very gently to get him to stop, then says, “Our son tells us we absolutely have to try your bubble tea, what’s your recommendation?”

The kid’s eyebrow—his _only_ eyebrow—lifts very slightly at the word _our_ , but he quickly neutralizes his expression. “You want my honest opinion?” He lowers his voice conspiratorially. “I think boba is gross.” 

Bato chuckles, and Hakoda remembers a little late to join in.

“But, uh, my uncle would like me to tell you that the taro milk tea is our most popular drink, and we also have our classic jasmine green tea, and, um … oh, there’s a new blend, with, uh, oolong and black tea and, um, some other stuff.” 

Bato gives the kid a smile. “A small taro milk tea, please.”

“With boba?”

“Yeah, I think I need the full experience.” He pokes Hakoda. “Koda?”

“Oh, uh … the jasmine one. A small. With boba.”

“Can I get a name for the order?”

“Bato.”

Their total is probably too high for leaf water and leaf milk (is taro a leaf? Hakoda realizes he doesn’t know what, exactly, taro is; some kind of root vegetable?) with flavorless tapioca, but oh well. Maybe it’ll really be as life-changing as Sokka swears it is. Bato pays, and he puts their change in the tip jar, which is adorned with the names of various area colleges. 

“Thanks,” says the kid.

“No problem,” Bato replies, and then tugs Hakoda to the nearest tiny, unstable, circular wooden table as the kid goes to make their drinks. Bato is never one for PDA, which makes it all the more baffling when he deliberately reaches across the table and takes Hakoda’s hand. He rests their interwoven hands on the table between them, rubbing his thumb across Hakoda’s knuckles in a manner completely incongruous to their setting. “Can’t believe we’re empty nesters,” he comments, not quietly enough for a private conversation in a cramped tea shop where the next occupied table is barely two feet away. “The house will feel so lonely without the kids.”

“Yeah, it’s …”

“That big old house with just us,” Bato laments, still too loudly.

Hakoda furrows his brow in confusion. “Bato, our house isn’t that big.”

“It’ll be like when we were young, before we were married …”

“A small jasmine green with boba for Bato,” calls the kid behind the counter, and then he looks right at them—

Okay, Hakoda gets why Bato was talking so loudly now.

The little, gentle smile that spreads across the kid’s face at the two of them, sitting together, holding hands, talking about raising their children and reminiscing about being young—that’s why.

**Author's Note:**

> the str8s will never understand the little thrill of seeing older lgbtq+ people just like... living... being happy... being in love... :')
> 
> hakoda is a himbo and i will stand by that
> 
> in case anyone is wondering, yes my tumblr posts about my college hcs for the gaang were related to this, i was originally going to have them be moving katara into her college but meh
> 
> also i 100% hc that sokka goes to mit in this. hell yes, smart boy. i love him. for the jasmine dragon, i was picturing boston tea stop in harvard square but like....... near mit lol
> 
> follow me on tumblr @katarahairloopies if u want


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